Lord Tharn Zon

Chapter 8 – Reaching a higher Rank – part 1

As they were walking along the main corridor and crossing paths with several students that kept on glancing at Tharn Zon, the nervous Istar asked in a whisper, “Tharn… Do you really think… you can help me Level up to adept? Because… I am not that sure myself…”

“See right there? That is your problem. You don’t trust yourself, which is why you fail. But I know what to do.”

Tharn took his pendant from around his neck. Istar looked at the crest on the pendant and frowned at the string to which it was attached, and when he gave her the necklace, she gasped at his whispered explanation. “This is my family’s relic. It is centuries old. Put it on, and you will feel its Magic.”

“I… I can’t accept this! It looks expensive! And it is from your family! You should keep it!”

Tharn gently pushed the necklace towards her and explained, “My family and my entire World disappeared. This is one of the few things that let me remember, and if it makes you feel more comfortable, I am lending it to you. I want it back when you no longer need it. This is merely a tool to help you concentrate. Instead of focusing on your breathing or being distracted by the noises or the people around you, concentrate on the warm Magic in this pendant. It can also absorb any loose Magic in case you lose control. And when it is full of Magic, you can use it to cast more Spells, if you exhaust your Magic.”

Istar put the necklace around her neck, hid the pendant under her clothes, and spoke with a pale face, “But… if it can work as a pool of Magic… This thing is absurdly valuable! Magical Items such as this exist, but the price… Are you sure I can use it?”

She then made a slight frown and touched the pendant over her shirt and said, “I feel… the warmth you said… It is like… I can’t properly describe it, but… it is as if I am… protected? No, that is not it… It is like the same feeling I have when my mother hugs me…”

“My family used to call it ‘Mother’s Love’. It has been in my family for generations, and the original owner and creator was forgotten centuries ago. And like a mother, that pendant will make sure that you always feel safe; it will protect you and help you. When you get more confident in yourself, you won’t need it anymore, and you will give it back to me. Deal?”

Istar nodded with watery eyes while still touching the pendant as they walked. As she was grabbing the doorknob of Training Room number four, she said, “Tharn… thank you... and... I am sorry for trying to fool you to go to that room where I summoned you… to make you go away…”

“Don’t worry, you will have plenty of opportunities to wish that I disappear. But for now, let’s take care of raising your Level, shall we?”

When they entered, Osman Halabi, Muranu, and Synesia Bardane were already there, waiting.

Tharn closed the door behind him and locked it, and he then walked to the middle of the room to meet them. “I see you all accepted my invitation. Let me prepare for a moment, and we will begin.”

Tharn walked to a wall, and he sat on the floor, facing them. He closed his eyes, and while the others were puzzled, looking at him without knowing what he was up to, he whispered, “System Sword, I want to change my Class. I want to be a Mage Summoner.”

“Changing Class… standby… Done. You are now a Mage Summoner, Novice Rank, Level 1. The Spells you can use are Summon Familiar, Summon Fire Elemental, Summon Flaming Familiar, Summon Ice Elemental, and Summon Freezing Familiar.”

The way he shone for a moment puzzled Istar and the others, but he then got up and joined them with a serious look and explained, “Sorry, but since you are all Summoners, I needed to change my Class. Let’s begin, shall we?”

Synesia Bardane asked, with a frown, “What do you mean, change your Class? Since when a Familiar can do that? Not even Mages can change their Class that easily!”

“It is just a matter of knowledge. I was a Mage Evoker, and now I am not.”

Synesia jolted and said, “I heard some rumours saying that you used Mage Evoker attacks against the Old Elemental, but I didn’t believe it!”

“You are talking too much. I hope you don’t babble out of this room about what we are going to do here, or you will lose the opportunity to learn with me. This will be the first training, and if you want to learn more, you need to keep your mouth shut. I don’t need a bunch of students after me asking to be taught, or Teachers wanting to get rid of me because of jealousy. From what I have noticed so far, your Teachers and Principal suffer from a lack of knowledge, and what I know and what I can do and teach you will for sure make them want to learn as well if they find out, and I don’t want to do that. Can I trust you all, or is it better if I only teach Istar?”

They all looked at each other, and they quickly turned to Tharn and nodded.

He made a slight smile and said, “I read some things in your School book, and I know that you already learned about constructs. In there, it says that the more precise the construct is, the more Magic it requires, it is more powerful, and it also looks more real. Some parts of this explanation are wrong, manly, the need for more Magic. A precise construct looks more real, and it is indeed more powerful. Let me demonstrate.”

He took two steps back, pointed one hand to the ground at his front, and without him saying even a whisper, the Magic from his hand shaped into a being on the ground who was looking at Istar, making her gasp.

It was a woman made completely out of ice, with long hair tied into a ponytail, a long robe, and a staff.

Tharn approached her and said, “Hello, Sara. I need your help, but you might end up dying a few times. Do you mind?”

The serious being shook her head and faced the group ahead. Istar stuttered while pointing at her, “T-Tharn! W-what is that?”

“It is a Magical construct that I summoned, or as you usually name them, an Ice Elemental. I call her Sara Perry. This is what can be accomplished with enough concentration and perfect visualization of what you want your Elemental to look like. During that weird practical test in the morning, I noticed that your Teacher could only summon an Old Elemental with no particular form, and all your colleagues that had Familiars with them had either animals or weird things that looked more like a nightmare than a Familiar. This is what a real Elemental should be like. But make no mistake, she is deadly and extremely dangerous. Her intelligence now is not that great because of my low Rank, but when I get a higher Rank and Level, she will be very intelligent and able to fight on her own, if needed.”

Muranu, the Cathra boy, gulped, and he then asked, unable to stop staring at the Elemental in front of him. “This… is impossible... And you didn’t even shout… How…?”

“Shouting or saying the Spell name is not needed if you are able to visualize perfectly what you want and if your concentration is good enough. Shouting or saying the name of a Spell is used by low Rank Mages to concentrate on their visualization, but it has no effect on the Magic itself like your School book mistakenly says.”

Osman Halabi approached, and carefully touched the icy cheek of the Ice Elemental, and was touched in his cheek in return, making him flinch. “Cold… Tharn, she is extremely beautiful… Is this… I mean, can you summon other Elementals of other elements?”

“Of course, but my low Rank only lets me summon this.”

Pointing to a different spot on the floor, Tharn Zon concentrated. Five meters away from him, another Magic was taking form.

Osman opened his eyes wide in front of the being that was staring at him from nearly three meters up. It was a creature that he had never seen before, but it was definitely a Fire Elemental, judging by the red colour and the fire that was escaping from his half-closed mouth.

It was a Fire Dragon that looked like a lizard with a big long head, two almond-shaped eyes, and a massive body five meters long, with spikes from the end of his neck to the tip of his tail. His wings were folded but were made of living, twirling flames. It had four curved and sharp claws on each paw and a long and muscular two-meter tail that ended in a sharp point that seemed as if it could be used to help him make quick changes in his flight, or to attack.

Tharn looked up and said, “This is Anubis, the Bringer of the End. I am going to use him to attack, and Sara will take care of my defence.”

When he looked at his surprised students, Tharn frowned, for they were all on their knees with one hand on the floor, completely pale. He crossed his arms over his chest and said, “If you react like that before these Elementals, I wonder what would happen if you faced one Necromancer and his army of Undead. You would all die in seconds! Take a deep breath and calm down. I didn’t even start!”

Synesia Bardane forced herself to get up, and she stumbled to get near the Fire Elemental. She approached her hand from one claw and retrieved it immediately when she sensed the heat. She then looked up and said, “Amazing… Such a magnificent Elemental… Tharn… If you teach me how to do this… I will be yours forever… You can order me around and use me as you deem fit… and I will gladly obey…”

That direct offering made him jolt, but he quickly regained his composure and continued, “Before that, go back to your place and take a deep breath, because I need to explain some things before we start.”

As Synesia was joining the others that were making a herculean effort to stand up in the face of something so unbelievable, Tharn whispered and waited for the Sword’s answer. “Master, you used 20 Magic, and have 80 to use.”

He gave a slight smile and explained. “As a Novice Rank, when you summon an Elemental or a Familiar, you need to visualize what shape and size they will have. Anubis could be bigger if I had a higher Rank and more Magic at my disposal. Because my Rank is low and because we don’t have space here for his usual size, this will have to do. I also need Magic to attack the Elementals that you are all going to summon.”

Istar looked up at the enormous head that was staring at them and said, “I… can’t do something… like him…”

“That I already know, but do your best. Think about not only summoning an Elemental but also its shape and size. But I will accept whatever type or shape your Elemental can take as long as you summon something. What you all can do tonight or tomorrow morning is to make a drawing of an Elemental as detailed as you can. Then, memorize it, and on your next summon, try to make one appear, like in your drawing. For now, I want you all to summon one Elemental and order him to attack my Ice Elemental. Sara has 50 Magic, so you can attack her one at a time, and when one of you gets levelled up, I will summon her again and you will repeat the attacks, but the one that levelled up will attack first, allowing another person to gain a few Levels as well. But first, let me check one thing.”